On July 4, Americans across the country and in places around the world will celebrate their national day of independence. Independent retailers are hoping that Americans will celebrate that spirit of "going it alone" by shopping in their stores and on their websites all throughout July as part of Independent Retailer Month.
The national campaign is dedicated to showing Americans the value of doing business with the small retailers in their own communities. 
While some of the facts and figures on the Independent Retailer Month are a bit dated, they all reach the same conclusion. Dollars spent with local retailers provide more direct benefits to the communities where purchases are made than when an equal amount of dollars go to chain store.
Independent Retailer Month is not the only promotion to support the small guy. American Express' Small Business Saturday has taken root over the past couple of years, encouraging consumers to "shop small." This effort also reinforces the advantages of spending money with local merchants.
A RetailWire article last November pointed to five steps small merchants could take to keep shoppers coming back after responding to promotions such as Independent Retailer Month and Small Business Saturday:
- Focusing on customer service
- Providing incentives to return
- Making use of social media to connect with new shoppers
- Establishing systems to learn about and communicate with customers
- Making use of mobile systems for payments, inventory tracking, etc.